3D Surface Roughness and Wear Measurement, Analysis and Inspection
Osborne Reynolds

The work of Osborne Reynolds

August 22, 2022

Osborne Reynolds, born August 23, 1842 Many engineers will recognize Osborne Reynolds as a pioneer in the studies of fluid mechanics and air flow. But Reynolds was also a key

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surface roughness measurement, contract measurement lab, michigan metrology

What can I expect from a contract measurement lab?

August 15, 2022

Accurate measurement keeps processes within specifications, which is, of course, key to producing quality goods. But the equipment required to acquire accurate data can be expensive to purchase and operate.

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Void Volume parameters, surface texture parameters

What are the Void Volume Parameters?

August 8, 2022

Fluid retention is a critical function of the surface texture in many applications. These surfaces may need to retain oil for lubrication, for example, or fluids may need to be

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Wear mechanisms, scoring, scuffing, galling - Michigan Metrology

Scoring, scuffing, and galling

August 2, 2022

So many wear mechanisms…so many definitions “Wear” is the progressive modification to a surface. It may result in a loss, deposit, or redistribution of material[1]. Quantifying different types of wear

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Friction and Wear of Materials, Ernest Rabinowicz, surface roughness and friction - Michigan Metrology

Friction and Wear of Materials

July 25, 2022

For those of you who have taken my class, you know that this is an important resource for me. Ernest Rabinowicz really pioneered our understanding of friction and wear, both

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Leaks, squeaks, fit, friction, noise, vibration, appearance, wear, adhesion - Michigan Metrology

The “leaks and squeaks” images

July 18, 2022

Over the years we’ve shown these images frequently on our website (which has just been updated, by the way!). Taken together, they sum up the kinds of issues we see—and

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Bandpass and Notch Filters

July 11, 2022

It’s a regular refrain on this blog: surface texture consists of a spectrum of spatial wavelengths, ranging from shorter spatial-wavelength roughness through longer spatial-wavelength waviness and form. Through the process

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Surface Texture - Floyd Firestone

Celebrating Floyd Firestone

July 5, 2022

Floyd Alburn Firestone was an acoustical physicist with wide-ranging talents, with important contributions in fields including acoustics, non-destructive testing, medicine, and surface texture. He is remembered as developing the first

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Leaks and Surface Roughness - Rotary lip seal leaks due to macro lead and micro lead

Micro vs macro lead

June 28, 2022

Rotary lip seals create a boundary around shafts in rotary equipment, typically to retain lubricant on one side versus air or gas on the other. On first consideration, it would

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Surface roughness - average roughness ra changes with cutoff wavelength - Michigan Metrology

Ra changes when the cutoff changes

June 21, 2022

The Roughness Average, or average roughness parameter, Ra, is the average of the surface heights of every point along the “roughness profile.” Its equivalent for areal (3D) measurements is the

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